The key hard skills to include on your EA CV

We all know that it is getting more challenging to get your CV past the recruitment algorithms that are employed to filter applications and we also know that in a crowded market we need our CV to stand out. My advice has always been to tailor your CV depending on the role, which you should do. However, it is also a good idea to collate a good list of skills that you can add to your CV that you have developed over the years. This way you don’t have to write your CV over and over again, you can, instead, drop and drag the required skills into your CV and hit send. That is where this blog post will come in handy! I have collated a list of key skills to include on your EA CV. These skills are the typical hard skills that will help you as a critical business asset in your organisation. I have also given an example of how you can phrase this skill in your CV so that you are showcasing the attributes that will make you a great employee.

Correspondence:Dealing with all incoming and outgoing mail. Including processing telephone calls and requests.

Creating and Maintaining Databases:Creating and maintaining all databases for my Executive and my department including our CRM system.

Email Management:Managing and maintaining my Executive’s email correspondence, including answering emails on behalf of my Executive, prioritising emails, filing emails and scheduling time for my Executive to respond to emails.

Errands:Running errands on behalf of my Executive to ensure they can concentrate on the organisation and its objectives.

Event Planning:Experience managing complex events including the company Christmas party, departmental team building events, off-site meetings, training and conferences. Planning every aspect of the event including budgets, objectives, themes, seating and working with event suppliers.

Foreign Language: Fluent in *language* in both written and verbal communications.

Greeting Visitors:First point of contact for all visitors arriving at the office, making a great first impression for my Executive.

Handling Inquiries and screening calls:Managing every aspect of communication on behalf of my Executive including handling inquiries, making decisions on what my Executive should be made aware of and screening calls on their behalf.

Information Management:Managing the flow of information across the department to make sure that my Executive has everything they need for their work while ensuring that everyone who needs to be in the loop is aware and has what they need.

Implementing Procedures:Experience implementing and maintaining procedures so that the Executive office runs smoothly.

Maintaining Filing Systems / Recordkeeping:Maintaining all physical and digital filing systems. The first point of contact for filing queries within the Executive office.

Managing Relationships with Clients:First point of contact for all clients, attending client meetings and representing my Executive in all aspects of client relations. Arranging activities for overseas clients and their partners.

Managing Teams / Staff: Managing all aspects of my team including career development, delegation, task management and guidance, training, providing feedback and solving any issues that may arise.

Processing Expense Reports:Processing all expenses for my Executive. Approving expenses for my Executive’s team and direct reports. Maintaining expense reports and liaising with the finance team.

Project Management:Experience working on complex projects and in project teams, managing projects from start to finish and supporting my Executive on organisation-wide projects. Awareness of project management tools including Scrum, Prince2, Six Sigma

Proofreading: Proof-reading all documents that are sent out by my Executive and department, ensuring the grammar and spelling is correct along with the tone and the message.

Purchasing, sourcing and working with suppliers:Making decisions on which suppliers to work with, approving spend and managing relationships with third-party suppliers.

Recruitment:Supporting all aspects of a recruitment drive from working with HR and recruitment agencies to drafting job descriptions and participating in the interview process.

Research:Conducting research so that my Executive is fully prepared for meetings, reading reports and complex documents, briefing stakeholders and liaising with clients.

Strategic Planning:Working closely with my Executive to support the strategic goals of the organisation, objectives and priorities. Always aware of the strategic needs of the business and how my Executive fits into that framework.

Taking Dictation:Advance dictation skills and experience using tools to process voice memos and voice recorded notes.

Travel Arrangements: Arranging every aspect of complicated global travel plans including managing visas, flights, hotels, local ground transport. Experience of working independently and with a travel management company to maximise travel plans with multiple flights and destinations. Experience travelling with my Executive and managing their trip from the local office.

35 hard skills to include on your EA CV

This cheat sheet will help you get your amazing skills noticed! We have created a list of hard skills that are critical to all Executive Assistants and we have also included an example sentence that you can add to your CV to showcase the attributes that make you a critical business asset.